Het Nieuwe Instituut

In recent years, the terrain adjacent to Het Nieuwe Instituut has gradually been transformed into a wild city garden. Visual artist Frank Bruggeman and ecological gardener Hans Engelbrecht, responsible for the construction and maintenance of The New Garden, discuss their way of working.

Photographer Johannes Schwartz, who is documenting the development of the garden, made this series of photographs of the butterbur that grows along the garden path. ‘I wanted to photograph them because of the holes in the leaves, which makes them unique, although, of course, they are not. This mini-typology shows the leaves eaten by parasites alongside the perfect form of the leaf, suggesting a new type of “plant ruin”.’

Since the spring of 2015, the grounds next to Het Nieuwe Instituut have been home to a public garden. Called ‘The New Garden’, it was designed and planted by artist and designer Frank Bruggeman with ecological gardener Hans Engelbrecht. Here they talk about their choice of plants and design, and about the effort to increase biodiversity in the city.

Writer Sanneke van Hassel (1971) wrote a short story especially for The New Garden. "A coot paddles in the pond. The only coot that ventures to do so. He keeps dipping his head into the water, his white beak disappearing in the darkness. An untidy heap of twigs floats by the edge of the pool – the start of a nest?"